When One Becomes Hollow
by ludwigsgirl97
Summary: Atsuko Naratake is one of two surviving members of her clan. The other is the reason for this, and her mother. From the age of six, she has to struggle with expectations, and her lust for vengance. Sort of like Sasuke's story only diferent. Just read it, the story is better than this I swear.
1. Chapter 1

Atsuko Naratake was only six years old. Today was both her birthday, and the day that her big sister, Asuka graduated from the Konaha ninja academy at the age of nine. A fair feat, but they were from the Naratake clan, one known for being one of the few rivals to the Uchiha in battle. They held a special ability, one even more interesting than the Sharingan an mirror wheel eyes. Select members of her clan had the visualization ability to use multiple jutsu at once without any hand signs. It was said that when fully mastered, the ability could be used to cast a hundred jutsu at once and become your own army. While a hundred was a bit of a stretch, the average was about six, making one Naratake worth an entire squad of jonen.

And while Asuka hadn't developed this yet, she was graduating with a class of twelve and thirteen year olds as number one, much to the anger of their parents, and the immense pride of hers. Well, at least her mother. Nearly all of their clan ended up in anbu, including the parents of the young girls. And duty had taken their father, and their mother retired at the ripe old age of twenty-five. But Noriko Naratake had a huge smile on her face as she walked her younger girl to watch her eldest walk out of that academy with her shiny new headband on.

"Mama, Asuka is a real ninja, like you and Daddy, right?" Atsuko asked, smiling up at the face of her mother. Both females had long black hair, and emerald green eyes, with a relatively pale complexion. If you looked at them, you'd think it was the same person, just from two different time periods. Both had the same small, up curving nose, and full lips, placed on round faces that looked far to gentle to hold the killing potential of their clan.

"That's right, sweetie. And you'll be joining the academy next month to become on too." The mother answered. She seemed sweet natured, and that was really the only side the younger sister had scene. But when you become nothing but Konaha's dog of war, as she had for years, you can never quite go back to normal, and the elder sister had seen her wild mood swings, often times simply sending Atsuko to go to one of their aunt's house, or promise to teach her ninja things and to wait in the training area for her.

"Hey Kid!" Asuka smiled as she walked into the courtyard where her family was waiting for her.

"There's my little girl." Noriko said, wrapping her daughter in a big hug.

"Hey, sis, guess what?" Atsuko grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

"What?"

"Bet I can graduate in two years." She said, earning a smack o the back of the head from her mother.

"Let your sister have her day in the sun. You'll have yours."

"Yeah, well I'll be in anbu before you're out of the academy."

"Your on!"

"Why would you want to join anbu?" Their mother asked, her air of happiness dissipating.

"Because I want to protect people. Like you and Dad."

"Do you not remember how that worked out for your father?"

"Yeah, but I also see you and plenty of other people who only worked for ten years and live pretty from what they made during that time. And it's my life, why re you so worked up?"

"Because I don't want to lose my daughter, too." People were starting to give them looks, and Asuka sighed.

"Fine mother. I won't then." She said, though not very convincingly.

"Excuse me, are you going to be in the academy next year?" A young boy with a brown ponytail and a wide grin asked.

"Me?" Asuka asked, as though the headband didn't make it obvious enough.

"No, the younger one." He asked, and Atsuko gave her best cool pose.

"Yep. And I'm gonna graduate two years after that." She said, and Asuka frowned.

"You just can't stop promising dumb things, can you?"

"It's not dumb if it's true."

"Then show me? Come at me little punk." The two sisters squared off, and ended up wrestling and laughing on the floor.

"I told you can't beat me." Asuka said as she pinned the six year old.

"No fair! You're bigger!" The child cried out, wriggling as best she could.

"I just wanted to know if you would be in my class. I didn't mean to start a fight." The boy said, looking guilty.

"No, they do this all the time. What's your name, by the way?" Noriko said, smiling at the boy.

"Iruka Umino, ma'am. Nice to meet you and your daughters."

"and you as well." She bowed as the boy ran off to his parents, who were there to sign him up for the academy.

"Anyway, let's head home, kids. I wanna cook something special for my little shinobi."

"Ooh? Can we have spicy curry, Mom?" Atsuko asked, jumping up and down.

"your sister gets to pick. It's her day, for the last time."

"Spicy curry sounds good. But not too spicy."

"But that's the fun of spicy curry!"

"Shut up, Atsuko. It's my pick, remember? I can have non-spicy spicy curry if I please."

"You wanna go?"

"Remember how that went last time?"

"It's 'cause you're bigger!"

"You can't challenge people bigger than you, and then get made when they beat you with size. Use that brain you constantly brag about."

"Just wait until we're the same size." The smaller one grumbled, being silent and moping for the rest of the walk .

When they arrived home, the two girls wrestled outside while their mother cooked dinner. They weren't quite playing, but not quite training either. While Asuka had taught Atsuko to use shuriken, and other basic moves, she didn't want the girl's life to become nothing but training. She wanted a little sister, not a fighting machine.

"It's dinner. Wash up and come to the table." Noriko called, causing the two children to rush into the home and fight over the bathroom sink.

"Asuka first. You two stop fighting over everything." She snapped, in spite of the fact that they did this every evening. The happy, playful mood turned to depressed anger due to their mother's dark aura. Asuka recognized it all to well, but Atsuko was clueless. It worried them both in two very different ways.

Dinner was eaten in silence, and Atsuko got up to take a bath before going to bed. About an hour after she went to bed, she was half asleep when her sister entered the bedroom they shared.

"Will you sleep in my bed tonight, sis?" The little girl asked, always finding comfort in the presence of her sister.

"Fine. But only tonight. You need to get used to sleeping by yourself." The elder chastised, though she had no intentions of leaving the younger while their mother had the tendency to snap at any moment. At least not until she was confidant that the younger could defend herself.

"Thanks." As soon as Asuka was under the covers, Atsuko was out like a light.

…..

No one saw Noriko as she paced in her room. She wanted to raise independent women, not more rabid dogs for the military she had come to despise. She only stayed in the village for the support of the family. Now it was that same family who was the rationalization for her daughter to become the very thing she wanted her to become the least. She'd rather raise a renegade than a soldier. At least that way Asuka would be doing things only on her terms.

She wished that their father was still alive to tell them to become shopkeepers. Teachers, farmers, anything but shinobi; and especially not Anbu. It was the worse case scenario, and the mother decided to end it the only way her childhood had taught her how. When something troubled you, and it wasn't your boss or your equal, kill it with silent grace.

But first, the rest of the clan. It couldn't be allowed to continue to supply the accursed village with more ammo to throw recklessly at whatever it pleased.

…..

Atsuko was asleep when her nose took in an odd scent that she had never smelled before. It was metallic, but had an odd, sweet tang to it. The scent of blood. The scent of all of the life leaking from everyone she had ever known. The Aunt who always made the best cookies. The uncle who would sneak her candy when she looked sad, or just walked by him at the right time. And then the one who had spilled it walked into their room, covered in it's morbid odor.

"M-mommy?" Atsuko squeaked out, fear rising in every nerve in her small body.

"Go out of the window, sis. I'll follow you in a minute." Asuka said, standing in front of her little sister. She knew she couldn't hope to win, and that if she ran she might have a chance at outrunning death. But she knew that Atsuko couldn't keep up, and she couldn't have a chance for either of them if she carried her. Either way, one of them would have to die, and she cared far too much about her little sister to run away and leave her to die. Not when she could hold off the woman who wanted them dead. At least long enough to make sure that Atsuko could get away.

" But, why won't you just come with me now? What's wrong with Mommy?" Tears ran down her face. She couldn't comprehend what was going on. And why should she? She was a six year old who just had her family murdered by her own mother. If she could comprehend it, something would be even wronger than it already was.

" I'll explain it to you later. Just go to Lord Hokage, okay? You know where he is, right?"

"Yeah. I-I'll be back with help." She promised, before doing exactly what she had been told. She ran as fast as her little legs would take her, long black hair flying out behind her. Tears blurred her vision, and a good thing too. Without that block, she may have seen the massacre around her. The dead bodies of those she loved laying on the ground like trash, nothing but food for the carrions now.

The image of her mother, drenched in blood, her green eyes sparkling like it was Christmas and her teeth standing out in her crazy grin of white on dark red haunted her already. The thought of her sister trying to fight her. The image of her sister being cut down by the rest with the very blade she was supposed to inherit. She was only six, but each step seemed to take a stab at her innocence. Each exhale took a little of her childish nativity with it, until she was nothing but a hollow shell. She remembered how her sister had once told her that she wanted to be the Hokage to protect people. And now, she was the first and only of those people.

"Please help me! My mom! My sister! Everyone's dead!" She shouted incoherently once she reached the hokage's mansion.

She fell to her knees. She had left her sister to die. Her mind tried to cover it up. She could feel the inky black of forgetting spilling onto the images, but she wouldn't let them go. She wouldn't let herself forget that she was the one who plunged her into this newly realized loneliness. She would need them in the future. Should she ever hope to have revenge on Noriko, she couldn't repress them. She had to call on those images, on the hate. Because with great hatred came great power, and to defeat the woman who had taken down her entire clan, she would need as much power as she could possibly get.


	2. Chapter 2

Day in and day out, Atsuko could be found in the small clearing where she and her sister had trained together. The place that was once her home was covered in police tape and white chalk, and she had tears in determined eyes as she did everything from punching trees, to practicing basic jutsu. She would come home covered in dust, and on some occasions, her clothing would have blood stains on them where she had cut herself on this or that. Home now, however, wasn't the half destroyed buildings of her clan's compound, but the Hokage's orphanage, designed for children of the hidden leaf that had nowhere else to go. She planned to leave as son as she could support herself. She had the inheritance of land from her clan, but it turned out that they were fairly poor, and had little money, in spite of the fact that they were of high stature, being anbu and such. Perhaps retiring a quarter way through your life wasn't too good for the finances.

Her caretaker was a kind, middle aged woman named Azumi. She had brown hair than came to her knees when it wasn't in it's usual bun, and caramel eyes that shone like the moon on a clear night. She was on the short side, and a bit thick, but she was always warm when it came to those she cared for. She cooked, although those that were old enough, including Atsuko, were expected to keep their small apartment clean. She cared for then when they were sick, and washed their clothes. No matter what she was doing, she'd stop and talk to anyone who needed her guidance, even when they didn't know they needed it, and simply rush later, or work after she should have been done.

The advice portion applied mostly to Atsuko, who would bring her clothing to Azumi to wash late into the night when she stumbled in, exhausted, and in her pajamas. Azumi had long since given up trying to explain curfew to the girl, figuring that grounding her was pointless, as she had no one to be grounded from, and she couldn't in good conscience take away letting the girl train.

"You know, Atsuko, you'll kill yourself training on of these days."

"Doesn't matter. It's necessary." She responded, her eyes looking as dead and hollow as ever.

"What do you mean? Dying matters quite a bit." She had always worried for the girl, thinking that she would do something drastic like taking the life that had been saved at the expense of everything she loved.

"My life isn't important anymore, and I was selfish to think it did before. As long as _she_ isn't still alive when I croak, I can die with no regrets no matter what my age is." The six year old said, her voice entirely monotone.

"A child your age shouldn't be talking like that. You should be playing with other children, and dreaming about the future."

"The nightmares scared all my dreams away. All except the dream of revenge." She placed the clothing next to her caretaker and started walking back to her room. Azumi watched her leave with a heavy heart. The sad case of Atsuko Naratake brought tears to her eyes anytime she saw the child, and yet she knew that she would be seeing the child for a good time to come. And then she remembered what she was surprised she had forgotten. Tomorrow, the day of the academy entrance ceremony, was also Atsuko's birthday. She wondered if the girl herself remembered that it was her birthday, or if it was simply another twenty-four hours that she had to endure in the life she seemed so eager to be rid of.

…..

Up in her room, Atsuko cursed at herself. She had been so blunt, and had seen the worry appear in Azumi's eyes. She didn't want her issues making Azumi sad too. She liked her caretaker, the woman was kind and never made her feel unwanted in spite of the fact that she was just another mouth to feed and annoying little kid to deal with. Ina fact, she would be taking the place of a parent the entrance ceremony, something that Atsuko hadn't even asked her to do, she had just offered. And now she had went and made her cry. She had seen the tears in the woman's eyes before she walked away, as she had many times before. In fact, it seemed that all Atsuko could ever do was make the woman cry. Instead of assuming it was the depressing circumstances under which the two had met, she assumed that it was simply because she was a depressing person to be around. She never laughed anymore, never even smiled. She had a constant scowl that would leave her with frown wrinkles by the time she hit twenty. That is, if she actually made it to twenty with her reckless behavior.

She went to bed, hungry from not eating lunch or dinner, but too tired to bother getting any. She would just eat a really big breakfast in the morning and it would all balance out eventually. At least she told herself that as she drifted off into sleep, hoping in vain that the nightmares would stay away.

…..

At the ceremony, names were called, and people were assigned to various classes. She stood in the group that was hers, and noticed that they boy, Iruka was in her class. This lifted the fog of depression from her for just a moment, until they double checked that everyone was in the right place, and they called out her last name. She hated the name now. It was the name that had come from her mother, and she wished that she could change it. She couldn't look in a mirror without wanting to break it, because she looked to much like the she-devil that had stolen everything from her. Not to mention it reminded her of the day when she was sitting where Azumi sat now, watching her sister get into the academy. It was her earliest memory, and she cherished it. But it also brought a good deal of sadness, that her sister couldn't take her place and watch her enter into the world of the shinobi.

After that was done, they were all taken into their classes, and given a pile of papers to have their parents fill out and return. The rest of the day would be given to simply socialize outside with the other students. Atsuko, no longer much of a socialize, went to the training area instead. There were white circles, use as target practice and she figured that these were as good as anything to use. She took out her shuriken and threw, nearly hitting the middle each time.

"Wow, I knew that you'd be good, but I wonder if even sensei could do that." Iruka said, watching her apparently this entire time. She cursed, and ordered herself to be more vigilant.

"I haven't hit the middle yet. This is unacceptable." She said, collecting the weapons from their place in the fence posts.

"Come one, you'd still have hit what you were aiming for."

"That amount of space can mean the difference between hitting an artery and killing your opponent, and barely leaving a scratch. I have to do better." She explained, not realizing that he was now comparing himself to her standards. As was normal for a child on their first day, he couldn't even get it into the white circle, much less the dead center.

"Maybe you could try something else, and then you could come back to it, and it'll be better." He suggested. That's what his mom had told him to do when he was having trouble with something.

"Maybe." She thought for a second, and then took a deep breath, letting it slowly before beginning hand signs. "Fire style: fire clone jutsu." She said, before three clones appeared, and she looked at the with scrutiny.

"I made four yesterday. Crap." She sighed as they disappeared.

"Hey!" Their teacher yelled, running up to them. "You aren't allowed to use jutsu without permission. We gave you this time to get to know your classmates, not kill them." She said angrily.

"Oh, I was just practicing. I wasn't gonna hurt Iruka. He seems like a nice kid. In fact, we were socializing quite well until you came over and drew attention to me, most likely having the rest of the kids mark me as a trouble maker they don't want to play with." She said, and the teacher blinked. This kid was talking like she was grown, and yet she had just turned seven. Genius even for her clan.

"Fine then, but no Jutsu. You can practice outside of school." The teacher said, walking away to monitor the rest of the class.

"There goes that idea." She frowned deeper than usual and looked around.

"What are you looking for?"

"A bigger kid who strong enough to spar with me, and stupid enough to actually accept the challenge. I do love being underestimated." She said, not necessarily cocky, but knowing exactly what she was capable of.

"What about over there, the one with shaggy brown hair and a blank expression." He suggested, and she nodded.

"As good as any. Good eyes, Iruka." She praised, and walked over to the guy. Iruka was shocked, he thought she was joking, she couldn't actually expect to beat a guy that much bigger than her, especially when he had so much more training than she did.

"Atsuko, what are you doing?" He yelled after her. She ignored him.

"Hey you. My name is Atsuko, and I need a sparring partner. Care to fill the role?" She asked, raising one eyebrow in challenge.

"Wow. These kids get cockier and cockier every year don't they?" He said, presumably asking the equally shaggy looking friend who was right beside him.

"Not cocky, confidant. Care to prove me wrong?" She crossed her arms, waiting for acceptance. When that damn teacher came up to her again.

"Do I have to put you on a leash? You can't go around challenging people to duals either."

"So what you're telling me is that you can't actually learn ninja skills at this academy?" She said, clearly angry at the teacher for stopping what she considered normal.

"we'll learn them in due time, but for now, just hang out like a normal kid."

"I don't want to hang out. It's a blatant waist of time. I can't practice on my own, and I can't spar, so what's the point of being here if all you're gonna to is waist my time." She glared at the teacher.

"because that's what is required to advance in rank, and you need social skills to be part of a squad."

"I won't get put in a squad. I'm a Naratake, they'll send me on solo missions until I die, go crazy of finally get fed up and retire. So if you won't let me train, I'll take my leave, tell me when the first test is." She stormed past the teacher, and off school grounds. The adults were shocked and the kids whispered about how cool she was, standing up to the teacher like that.

But she hadn't meant it as insubordination, she had merely wanted to be allowed to train properly. She went to her normal spot, and began practicing her jutsu, when she heard a twig crack behind her. She swiveled, and held a kunai at the ready. Then she found that it was someone who was very unlikely to be a threat. Her sister's best friend, Kakashi Hatake. He had spiky white hair, and black eyes, not to mention a predators stance as he stood with his mask and his blade at his back.

"Oh, it's just you." She said, sighing in relief.

"You know, you can't just skip class like that. You have to go if you ever want to get any missions."

"And who says I want missions? I only want to become stronger so that I can get my revenge on _her_."

"And how do you plan to find her without the information that you only get at higher levels? You think they'll tell the average citizen everything you'll need to know? You go to school every day, ace your exams and get out in a few years, make chunen in one, and jonen in another, followed by anbu, and by the time you can beat someone as strong as she is, you'll have all the connections you need." He said, and her eye went wide. She had never thought of it that way. Through this month, she had thought that she'd simply be able to find her mother all on her own. She didn't want anyone's help, she didn't have the ability to trust anyone to give it to her.

"I suppose. But it feels like such a waist of time."

"But it's the rules, and you're just going to have to follow them." He said, and she nodded.

"But I'm not going back today. Tomorrow, when they might be actually doing something." She said, going back to her training.

"By the way, you might want to work on your vigilance. I had to break that twig on purpose to get your attention." He said, before he was gone with a single hand sign and a puff of smoke.

She grit her teeth. She had to waist time in order to save it later, and investment so to speak. But it would be worth it when she watched the light drain from those green eyes she had come to hate. When she got he revenge, and could die happily.


	3. Chapter 3

"I see someone decided to come to class." The teacher said as she walked in the next day.

"Turns out you can fail on attendance." She said back, and everyone laughed, but she was being serious. She only came because she had to be there.

"Well, today, we'll be learning about charka. Open the books to page four." She instructed. Atsuko opened hers as she was told, but only in case there was a participation grade. She had learned what charka was and how to use it when she was five. While everyone else read the passages, in large print with very small words, she simply stared into space, focusing on the hand signs for her favorite jutsu. At least the favorite that she had the charka stores to actually perform. The droll of the teacher and the flipping of pages was interrupted by people shouting. She opened her eyes, to find three of her around the room.

"What did I tell you about jutsu, Naratake?" The teacher said, and she flinched at the use of her last name.

"I didn't mean to! Sis couldn't do jutsu without hand signs until she was eight." She protested.

"What do you mean without hand signs?" The teacher asked.

"Wow. Half my clan has died to protect you, and you don't even know how."

"Then enlighten me."

"Fine. Members of the Naratake clan can use jutsu only be visualizing the signs in their head. That's what I was doing when the clones happened. That or someone else can make fire clones, which I doubt, unless it was you."

"You need to get up off your high little pedestal, little girl. Strong as you may be, you're still only an academy student." The teacher scolded, earning her a glare from the girl.

"There is no pedestal. I'm quite certain that my existence isn't too important in the scheme of things, but I have a very clear goal, and currently, this accursed academy is only a useless step, because I know everything I need to know to fight. I doubt you'll be teaching us many advanced jutsu, and I can already do the basic ones, so what's the point."

"Next time you decide to break a rule, remember that you can fail on demerits also." The teacher scowled, earning her a constant glare through the rest of class. Unfortunately, staring wasn't against the rules, so the teacher couldn't do much about it.

This was pretty much the tune of the class for the rest of Atsuko's first year. The academy conveniently developed a rule that you couldn't graduate after the first year, being the only reason that Atsuko wasn't already out. She had learned to shut her mouth, and had even been able to practice her jutsu right under the teacher's nose in that she could conjure her clones outside, as well as use one of them to substitute as her in lectures. She came home on the first day of summer break, to find her room full of the other orphans.

"Congrats Atsuko!" They all shouted as she walked in, placing her bag on the floor.

"For what? So it's summer break, I still have to stay for another year." She scowled, cracking her neck, a habit that was apparently quite strange in that people gave her odd looks when she did it.

"Come on, we got your report today, you have perfect grades."

"Grades don't matter. There's a girl with perfect grades who could manage to get herself killed on a D-rank mission."

"Come one, can't you be proud of yourself for once?" Azumi pouted.

"I barely passed, Atsuko, you should be happy to have perfect marks." Iruka said, walking in and placing his bag next to hers.

"Iruka? You didn't have to come, you know." Azumi said, smiling.

"Well, I think me and Atsuko are friends. She doesn't call me a useless worm at any opportunity, so…"

"Am I really that bad? I only tell people what I observe."

"You can be a bit harsh." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'll try not to be from now on. I really don't mean to be mean to them. Heck, most of them look up to me in spite of it." She said, and everyone waited for the smile they thought was coming. Her lips straightened out of their normal frown, but didn't quite turn up. It was like asking Santa for a pony for Christmas and getting one of those sticks with a stuffed horse head on the top. It was something, but it still wasn't nearly as cool as what you wanted.

"Now that that's settled, let's have some cake!" Azumi loudly announced. Even though the cake was for her, Atsuko didn't eat any, never having had much of a sweet tooth.

The other children got their slices, left and after a few moments, it was just the caretaker and the two classmates.

"Thank you, Azumi." Iruka said, smiling and sitting down on Atsuko's bed.

"Hey, Azumi?" Atsuko asked, staring into space.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to cut my hair really short. Will you do that for me?"

"Yeah, sure. But why would you want to cut all that pretty hair off?" She would have ruffled the girl's hair if she hadn't noticed an extreme aversion to touch. Instead of handing people things, she would lay it right next to them, or use charka to walk on the ceiling rather than bump into people in the hallway.

"Because someone told me today it made me look like _her_." At the obscure pronoun, her fists clenched, making it obvious just who _her_ was.

"Alright. I'll do it when bring you your dinner, okay?"Azumi said, heading out to do just that.

"Yeah. Thanks." She sat with her knees curled to her chin, and her eyes half-lidded and sad.

"You know, Atsuko, your hair is really pretty. Are you sure you wanna cut it all off?" Iruka asked, blushing slightly.

"Yeah. Anything that makes me look like Noriko is something I want gone. My eyes, everything makes me look like her, and I hate it."

"But it's what you do, not what you look like that matters. Besides, how many people actually knew her to start with?"

"It's my hair! I can cut it if I want." She shouted, turned around, but only for a moment. She got a glimpse of his hurt expression, and wanted to bash her head against a wall.

"I'll be back in an hour. Tell Azumi on your way out." She said, standing up and going to the window. He thought she was crazy as she jumped from the third story, and he ran to the window, expecting to see her splattered against the pavement. Instead he found her running off, perfectly fine. He sighed in relief, and concluded that she wasn't human. At least not the same type of human as him.

…

"So you actually made it through without killing anyone." Kakashi praised, as she walked into the training field.

"Yeah. But only just. Anyway, sorry I'm late. Azumi had a little thing planned for me."

"Just this once, I'll forgive your lack of punctuality. Don't let it happen again." The white haired perfectionist said, leaning against a tree.

"So then, what do you have in mind today?"

"I would show you chidori, but that's no good for a fire type. How about the fireball."

"I learned that before I entered the academy. What else?"

"Fine, but that's all had for you at the moment, so you'll just have to practice that until you head home." She cursed at him under her breath, and then started walking off.

"And where do you think your going?"

"You can't play with fire in the forest, idiot. I'm heading to the lake." She said as though it were obvious.

"But that's your new training. Controlling the flame once it's left you." He smirked.

"It doesn't work that way! Fire is an independent element." She argued.

"I saw it done once, and if that guy could do it, and I can do it, then you can do it."

"fine, show me then." She challenged, not believing that he could do it.

" Alright then. You make your hand signs, or not in your case…" He joked, making the fireball hand signs quickly "And then put this one at the end…" He made an addition, and took a deep breath, before blowing out, a thin stream of flame coming from a small hole he had put in the mask for just this purpose.

"If you can do it, then I can." She took a deep breath before visualizing the same signs as she had just seen. She inhaled, and instead of a streamline flame, there was a huge fireball. It simply went in the direction she wanted it to. This of course, caught most of the surrounding trees on fire. She freaked out, not wanting people to think she was trying to burn the village down, though all that was in immediate danger was her own property, technically speaking.

"You control how much fire there is by how much air and chakra you put into it. The goal isn't to make the biggest fireball you can anymore. It's precision."

"Right, now how are we supposed to put this out?" she asked, not really caring for criticism until the blaze was extinguished.

"Fine, if you wanna be so picky." He complained, his hands a blur before it suddenly got really cold, and frost chilled the flames into nothing more than a smolder, and that was soon gone as well.

" I told you we should have done this by the lake."

"Why do you think I learned an ice jutsu? I hate ice jutsu." Kakashi replied.

"Whatever, I said that I'd be back home in an hour, so I gotta go."

"So you'll care about being on time now, but not when you're making your teacher wait?"

"You don't feed me. Azumi does." She said before running off to go back home. In reality, she only bothered coming because she needed to blow off steam, and that steam was effectively blown.

….

"You know, I heard that you used to like spicy curry, but you won't eat it when I make it. Do I do it wrong?" Azumi asked as she handed the girl a bowl of instant ramen, ironically her new favorite meal.

"Because the night that Noriko killed everyone, we ate spicy curry. I could still taste it on my tongue because I had forgotten to brush my teeth that night, and anytime I taste it, the smell of the blood comes back and I get sick." She explained.

"I see. Well, at least your new favorite is cheap."

"Do you only make my favorite, or everyone else's too?" she asked, as she slurped the pork flavored noodles into her waiting mouth.

"No, nearly every meal is someone's favorite. You aren't that special. Hurry up so I can cut your hair."

"Thanks, Azumi." She ate for a moment, and thought. "Hey Azumi?"

"Yeah?" The kid was just a kid, even if she didn't know it. A very mature eight year old, but only eight nonetheless.

"Can I call you Mom?" She blushed at this question, and then became alarmed when she saw tears in the woman's eyes. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"They're happy tears, Atsuko. Of all the kids I've cared for, I've never been able to be called mom before."

"You don't have any kids of your own? But you're such a nice lady."

"It's because I had a disease that made it where I couldn't have children when I was a teenager. My husband died a couple years ago, and I thought that I'd never get to be addressed by Mom."

"I wish you had a kid instead of me being born. Then you could be happy." Atsuko said, putting her ramen down and leaning on the woman.

"Don't ever talk like that. You're a wonderful young lady, and one day you'll do wonderful things. Besides, I have plenty of children to care for, even if they aren't by blood. Nothing makes me happier than hearing you call me mom, and don't you forget it." She wrapped the little girl in a hug.

"Even when I try and help people, I only end up hurting them. At the academy, when I try and help someone who's struggling, I only end of being mean, or accidentally hurting them. A kid from you would have gentle hands, like yours. My hands, and everything else, is just like _hers_."

"You're nothing like her, other than the fact that you have immense potential. It's how you use that potential that will make you different."

"How do you always know what I need to hear?"

"Because all I do is tell you the truth."

"One day I'm gonna be Hokage, Mom. And then I'll make sure that I take care of everyone, like you do." She said, falling asleep before she even got her haircut.

A/N- So a few points that may be unclear.

This is moving fast on purpose, because we're still pretty much in the prologue. When we get to the plot, it'll be more in detail, and not skipping entire years in a paragraph or two.

The KakashixIruka will come later. Much later. Like in the epilogue later. The main plot, if you havn't figured it out yet Iruka will be with Atsuko for most of this story.

I know that this is fairly sad, and you watch Naruto for either constant face smashing, or the constant buttsecks that fanfiction offers, but unfortunately this is kind of like one of those 50 episode filler blocks until we get to the actual plot. Bear with me, because some of this is important, and will explain things later on.

Thank you, and I hope you will review/favorite/follow/ect.


	4. Chapter 4

It was the first day of her second year, and due to her superb advancement, she was placed in a class full of the thirteen year olds who would soon be graduating with her. As she walked in, the room grew silent, and she simply looked for an empty desk.

"Hey, kid, you sure you aren't supposed to be down the hall with the other little babies." One of the kids joked, obviously having no idea who she was. His friend was happy to inform him.

"Dude, that's the Naratake girl. I hear that Kakashi Hatake himself trains her, and that she once kill three jonen because they laughed at her."

"I've never killed anyone. People just like to make up stories. But yes, I am indeed supposed to be here." She said, remembering the promise about being nicer. Her hair, having been cut, was now framing her round face, and seemed to draw attention to her big green eyes even more than usual.

"So then there's nothing to be afraid of. You're just a little know it all who managed to suck up to enough teachers to be advanced."

"I wouldn't say that." She said, part of her wishing she was back with the rest of the people of her year, namely Iruka. The students had been in awe of her for a while, but they could only stand a know it all for so long, and it wasn't her fault that she truly did know everything that they were putting in front of her.

"Then prove it. After morning lessons, we get sparring time. I pick you as my partner." He grinned, and she was tempted. If her smiling muscles weren't so weak from disuse, she may very well have done so.

"Fine. I could take you and your little group of friends. None of you will add up to Kakashi, and I nearly beat him yesterday." She said, taking her seat and getting out her notebook and pencils.

…

"Are you sure you aren't gonna chicken out, little girl." The boy said, cracking his knuckles. As was to be expected, he was the resident tough guy, and everyone was gathered round to watch the fight.

"That would be my line if I allowed surrender." She said, her brow furrowing.

"Then start." He taunted.

"I already have." She said, once again, nearly grinning at his stupidity, "Fire style: Flame dragon jutsu." She herald out her hand and a small flaming line with the head of a dragon came forth, wrapping around the boy.

"W-what the hell are you? You didn't even use any hand signs." He was hysterical, and his friends were as far back as the crowd would let them go.

"I'm a Naratake." She said, "And you could forsake all honor and beg for mercy, or let this sire serpent take it's first victim." She said, putting all the bloodthirsty she could into the statement.

"I surrender. Please, just don't kill me." He begged.

"This is sparring, not murder class." The teacher said, and Atsuko closed the fist. The flame disappeared, and The boy fell to the floor.

"He thought me a fool. Besides, that technique couldn't kill him unless he moved. It's only used in interrogation, to make the enemy think that you could kill them at any time. So that the interrogator doesn't get pissed off and accidentally kill them with it, it has a failsafe." She explained. The teacher didn't seem to but it, but didn't press the issue.

"Well, isn't that special." A raspy voice said behind them. Before Atsuko could turn around, arms were wrapped tightly around her. She cursed, wishing that this guy had at least bathed before trying to kidnap her. She took a deep breath, and hand signs went through her head, before a knife was at her assailant's throat.

"Dropping me is the right choice." The little girl said, cockiness dripping from her high pitched voice. Until another voice was heard amongst a group of younger children running out of the school house. Iruka, shouting as a man stood above him with an ax and a bloodthirsty grin.

He screamed and awaited the blade to fall on him. But it never came, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar form of his friend in front of him, blood pouring down her arm.

"Atsuko?" He asked, standing up on shaky legs to see that she had blocked most of the attack with a kunai knife, but in doing so had dug her own weapon into her forearm.

"Are you okay, Iruka?" She asked, turning to him for a moment.

"Who the hell do you think you are, little brat?"

"I'm Atsuko Naratake. And who the hell do you think you are, trying to kill my best friend?" She snarled, and he was shocked when a small circle of flame wrapped around her, and tendrils shot out, trapping each of the half dozen assailants.

"What is that?" Iruka asked.

"The attack that can't kill you." The one who had grabbed her originally, but was now holding only a log.

"No, this one doesn't have the fail safe." She said, tightening it just enough to burn the man who had spoken. While she seemed to have it all in the bag, she was panting from the strain on her chakra reserves, especially considering they weren't fully developed yet.

"She'll lose it in a couple seconds." The man in front of her said.

"Begging the question, where the hell are the jonen? Even some Chunen?" She said, her fists clenching, as if she were holding up something that was extremely heavy.

"You know we're in a war, right Atsuko?" The sound of her real teachers voice said, as Kakashi walked into the clearing.

"And how about some help?" She half-whispered, falling to her knees. "Unless you want these people to die?"

"You'll have to kill eventually. Start with this man, who threatened your friend." The white haired male said, bending down next to her.

"I won't. The only person I want to kill is _her_. I refuse to be a murderer." She responded, each word sounding weaker than the last.

"Then I suppose everyone else will die. Including Iruka. You can't protect the life you care for without taking that of those who threaten it." He said, his face right next to hers.

"Damn you, why can't you do it?" She asked, fighting tears and exhaustion.

"Is that what you'll say when you face Noriko? Oh, Kakashi, why don't you do it, because I want to be an avenger, but I'm to scared to kill anyone. I'm not, Atsuko. So kill them, or I'll put the knife in Iruka's throat my damn self." He threatened, placing a kunai to the tan neck.

"I'm sorry, sister." She whispered, before her hands closed completely, and the few remaining civilians watched blood fly everywhere as the flames cut the criminals to pieces. Just in time for The third Hokage to show up, ready to stop it. Instead of a massacre of children, he found a crying girl, and Kakashi helping up a tan young man.

"What happened here?"

"Atsuko had everything under control by the time I arrived. She handled the situation single handedly." The white haired ninja bragged.

"The one who's sobbing?"

"I'm not crying! I'm just tired, and it's making my eyes water!" She shouted, standing up only to fall face down, completely passed out.

….

"Are you sure that she's alright, that's a nasty cut on her arm." Azumi's concern was the first thing that the young hero heard as she groaned awake.

"I'm fine, Mom. Sorry to have worried you." She said, though she didn't feel fine. Her limbs felt like lead, her right arm, the injured one, feeling more molten than the rest, but lead nonetheless.

"You're sorry, everyone who was there who was supposed to be watching you should be sorry. They couldn't even beat a band of thugs, and so you had to." Azumi looked ready to kill, and scary enough to be believed.

"Look, she had it under control, no one got seriously hurt, so what's the problem?" The Hokage himself defended, holding up his hands as though she may attack him at any time.

"Really, in a few days I'll be back to training, Mom. It's not that serious."

"And what happens when you aren't there to protect everyone? What if something else happens, but there isn't a prodigy who can control the situation? That's serious."

"We'll make sure from now on to have at least one jonen at the academy at all times, but this is war, Azumi. We have to understand that we're shorthanded, and that was the first time that an attack was aimed specifically at the academy."

"So we simply ignore the people that will be fighting the war you started after you're dead and gone? If anything happens to any of my kids again, It'll be your hide, old man!"

Atsuko was quiet at this point, staring at her wounded arm, but not really in that room anymore. She was in the place that she had managed to wrangle into her dreams, only to have it come out now, too. The images of her mother drenched in blood. Only now, she was the one standing with a blade and a smile, as insanity danced in her eyes, and firelight on her skin. She was the killer now. The innocence that had separated she and her mother was gone. They were simply two sinners, both trying to kill the other, only Atsuko knew that, in spite of taking on a few thugs, she was no where close to being able to kill Noriko.

"Hello, I'm here to check on Atsuko." Iruka said, opening the door slowly, and bringing Atsuko from her trance.

"Hey, 'Ruka." She greeted, and he smiled.

"Good, you're awake. I was starting to get worried."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days."

"What? That means I've gone three days without any training. Oh man, Kakashi's gonna kill me." She lowered her head.

"I've talked to Kakashi. If he so much as scoffs at you, he'll have my old skillet shoved so far up his ass he'll taste steel for a month." Azumi said.

"I guess that's settled then. Are you okay? I did push you down pretty hard back there." Atsuko asked, rubbing the back of her neck, a nervous habit that she had picked up from her older sister, who had gotten it from their father.

"Of course I'm fine. Getting pushed down is nothing compared to the slash you got."

"I guess." He noticed that she hadn't met his eyes, and sat down on the bed next to her.

"I can watch her now, Azumi. You and lord Hokage probably have lots of work to do." He said, smiling at them reassuringly.

"Fine. But don't think you've heard the last of me, old man." Azumi pointed a finger at the Hokage before walking out. He followed a moment later, careful to go in the other direction.

"Are you okay, Atsuko?" Iruka asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah. The wound will heal soon enough."

"Not just physically. Whether you were crying, or your eyes were watering, the point is that killing those people messed with your head."

"Kakashi was right. If I want to become a shinobi. To become strong enough to kill _her_, I'm gonna have to learn to be able to kill. It's the harsh reality."

"That isn't what I asked."

"I'm as okay as I've ever been, Iruka. But, how come everyone's so worked up? I'm the only one who got hurt, so I don't see the big deal."

"Maybe people are making a big deal because you got hurt"

"But why? I'm just one person."

"I'm just one person, and you got upset when you thought that someone was going to hurt me. I didn't even actually have to get hurt."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Because you have a family. You have parent at home that would cry if something happened to you. You have a life ahead of you, real goals."

"And what about Azumi? She's your parent, and I'd cry if you died. Just because you don't have blood family anymore doesn't mean no one cares about you. Besides, you wanted to be the Hokage, right? So that you could protect everyone."

"But how likely is that. You have to be kind to be the Hokage. My only real goal is to kill Noriko, but even that is unlikely."

"And where do you get that? You're the shining prodigy of the leaf village."

"But shinobi should be closer to a new moon, shouldn't we be? I'm nothing but talk and façade. Someone who can care and protect will come along before the third dies, and they'll take over."

"You're eight years old. We can make these choices when we get older. Being a kid is all about uncertainties, right?" He smiled at her, and she nodded.


End file.
